The middle-aged man beside him quickly whispered, "Xiao Li, keep your voice down! Don't let Supervisor Hu hear you, or he'll make your life difficult again!"
The middle-aged man, surnamed Song, used to be a small supermarket owner. Although he wasn't wealthy, he lived a comfortable, middle-class life.
However, after the apocalypse, all the goods in his supermarket were confiscated, leaving him penniless. He was then assigned to this factory, working alongside Li Deng as a laborer.
The Supervisor Hu he mentioned was the overseer of this workshop, a man who held the power of life and death over them.
Greedy and cruel by nature, the workers privately referred to him as "Hu the Skinner."
The middle-aged man, surnamed Song, advised, "Xiao Li, don't be stubborn. Filling your stomach is more important."
Li Deng clenched his fists tightly, his heart burning with rage.
He was a university student from Dongdu University, with what should have been a bright future. And now, he was doomed to rot here for the rest of his life?
Working over ten hours a day, only to earn two meals made from who-knows-what.
Li Deng looked down at the black, paste-like substance in his lunch box, finding it hard to swallow.
Glancing at the middle-aged man surnamed Song, he couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Uncle Song, they took everything you had. Don't you hate them?"
Uncle Song was startled, quickly shushing him before showing a faint, helpless smile.
"Just being alive is enough. What's there to hate? As it is, I'm already luckier than most."
Looking at Uncle Song's numb expression, Li Deng unwillingly glanced around at the other workers.
All of them wore the same expression—faces smeared with grease, eyes devoid of light, and a deadened look on their faces.
They resembled nothing more than walking corpses.
A sudden wave of fear washed over Li Deng. Even though these people were still living, they felt more terrifying than zombies to him!
Who would have imagined that not long ago, they had diverse jobs, distinct personalities, and were full of hope for the future?
And now, it was as if they had lost all thought.
Their ultimate goal had become nothing more than filling their stomachs!
Like pigs...
Just then, Uncle Song nudged Li Deng. "Supervisor Hu is coming."
A middle-aged man with a large belly, hands clasped behind his back, approached them, dressed in a tailored suit. His face was full and round, and his small, beady eyes gleamed with a sinister sharpness.
When the workers saw him, fear immediately flickered across their faces, and they quickly lowered their heads to focus on their work.
They were terrified of drawing his attention.
This man was Hu Weimin, the overseer of the workshop, who held the power of life and death over them!
Hu Weimin, with a look of smug satisfaction on his face, strolled through the workshop like it was his personal fiefdom.
In the old days, he had been a small-time contractor, running a business worth a few million yuan.
However, he had managed to befriend several government officials, living a rather carefree life.
The reason was simple—his wife had once worked as a maid for the Qin family, the kind that served in the grand mansion!
She even had a connection with a distant relative of the Qin family.
Because of this connection, Hu Weimin could just barely claim some association with the Qin family…
So, when the apocalypse came, Hu Weimin suddenly transformed into the supervisor of Workshop B2 at the Third Military Factory, holding the power of life and death over more than 2,000 workers.
To him, these 2,000 people were nothing more than slaves, to be squeezed and manipulated at his whim.
He had coerced the wives of some workers, whose looks were still passable, into his bed using various methods.
And as for those who had any backbone, he had driven them to their deaths!
Just yesterday, seven workers had died suddenly…
He was a typical scumbag!
When Hu Weimin saw Li Deng and the lunch box on the lathe, a cold glint appeared in his small eyes. He said with a sneer, "Xiao Li, what's the matter? Not satisfied with the food?"
He had long made a mental note of Li Deng, the troublemaker, and was just waiting for an opportunity to deal with him.
Uncle Song quickly intervened, "No, no, I was just talking to Xiao Li, and he didn't have time to eat."
Hu Weimin looked at Li Deng, who was stubbornly keeping his mouth shut, and sneered inwardly.
Do you still think you're the promising university student you once were?
But he liked this kind of tough nut because breaking them gave him a great sense of accomplishment…
That's why he hadn't yet had Li Deng die suddenly!
Thinking of this, Hu Weimin felt a surge of satisfaction—he absolutely loved this era!
In the old days, although he was a small boss with dozens of workers under him, he never dared to be so arrogant.
At most, he would dare to scold the workers a few times, but hitting them? No way. After all, the workers knew their rights now and would sue him!
Even with his Qin family connection, the Qin family wouldn't bother helping him with such trivial matters.
But now, things were different. He had the power of life and death over these people!
If he didn't like someone, he could just kill them.
No one would resist, and no one would care. There would soon be new workers to replace the dead—despite the nature of the work, countless people were still desperate to get in.
In this workshop, he was the local tyrant!
Staring sinisterly at Li Deng, Hu Weimin sneered, "Alright, but Xiao Li, you've dirtied the lathe, so all your points for today are forfeited!"
Hearing this, Li Deng's eyes immediately filled with anger.
The lathe was already covered in grease, so how could he have dirtied it?
It was clear that Hu Weimin was deliberately making things difficult for him!
He was about to argue back, but Uncle Song tugged at him from behind, urging Li Deng to stay calm.
What did he have now to fight against Hu Weimin?
He suppressed his anger and stayed silent.
Seeing Li Deng remain quiet, Hu Weimin snorted in satisfaction and strutted away.
The surrounding workers just watched the scene in silence, not daring to provoke this big shot.
Li Deng was trembling with rage, suddenly overwhelmed by the urge to cry.
After all, he was just a sophomore in college, still practically a child…
The death of his parents had been a source of unbearable grief that he had never been able to let go of, and now all the pent-up frustration surged within him, making him want to burst into tears.
But Li Deng held back his tears.
He picked up the lunch box and started to shovel the sour, foul-smelling paste into his mouth.
Uncle Song had said something very true.
At least he was still alive!
But he wasn't living just to survive—he was biding his time for a chance to fight back!
He wasn't going to spend his life rotting away here forever!
.....
Qin Residence.
In a luxurious dining room, Qin Jun was enjoying dinner with his family.
There weren't many people at the table, just seven in total.
Besides Qin Jun and his father, Qin Yuan, there were also his three uncles—Qin Shanglong, Qin De, and Qin Ming.
Additionally, there were Qin Jun's two aunts, Qin Yue and Qin Li.
Including Qin Jun, they were the core members of the Qin family.
The Qin family was an ancient and powerful clan, with strict rules and clearly defined hierarchies.
The main branch controlled the majority of the Qin family's resources, while the collateral branches could only rely on the main branch, structured like a pyramid that extended downward.
Together, they formed the towering tree that was the Qin family.
Qin Jun's three uncles and two aunts all held high-ranking government positions.
Qin Ming was the First Secretary of the Office of the Cardinal of the Imperial Capital, and a potential candidate for one of the top seven leadership positions in the country.
Qin De was the Minister of Commerce, and Qin Shanglong was the Commander-in-Chief of the Southeastern Military District, holding the rank of General.
Qin Yue was the Director of the National Energy Administration, controlling the nation's resource lifeline.
And Qin Li served as the Executive Deputy Governor of Dongdu, effectively the top official in the city.
The core members of the Qin family all held ministerial or deputy national-level positions.
This demonstrated just how terrifying the power of the Qin family truly was!
Before the chaos erupted, the Qin family had already keenly sensed the impending danger—by then, the number of infected in the Imperial Capital had already surpassed 3,000.
So the senior members of the Qin family promptly left the Imperial Capital and returned to Dongdu, successfully avoiding the disaster.
Many people tend to think that in a post-apocalyptic world, the power structure would be reshuffled, and those in power would lose everything, allowing ordinary people to rise up.
It must be said that this notion is... utterly foolish.
Families like the Qin family, with their immense power and resources, have access to far more information, and far earlier, than the average person.
While ordinary people are still clueless about what's happening, they've already been forewarned of the danger.
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(A/N)- please don't forget to give power stones and reviews so I know if i should continue this novel or not.